Graham Stringer, MP for Blackley and Middleton South, has condemned the Science and Technology Facilities Council's (STFC) decision to reduce Jodrell Bank's funding to zero, calling it an act of scientific vandalism laced with bigotry.
The STFC announced that Jodrell Bank 'will not be prioritised for further funding', effectively ending its status as a centre of scientific excellence. The decision has been criticised by MPs across the political spectrum and leading scientists internationally.
Historic significance and current achievements
Jodrell Bank, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has inspired generations of scientists. It was the only scientific instrument able to track the USSR's Sputnik in the late 1950s and later followed Soviet lunar spacecraft during the first US manned moon landing. Today, it continues to make breakthroughs, discovering new galaxies with six smaller English radio telescopes and tracking space debris as small as 3cm.
A major new radio astronomy project in the southern hemisphere has chosen Jodrell Bank as its headquarters, seeking close association with an active research observatory.
Root causes and the case for pure science
Stringer traces the threat to a funding merger 19 years ago that created the STFC, which was inadequately financed and has since been criticized by the House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee.
He argues against prioritizing mission-driven research over curiosity-driven science, citing how quantum mechanics research led to medical technologies like PET scans. 'The very nature of scientific research is that the unknown is being investigated and therefore you cannot possibly predict whether or not it will be useful,' he writes.
A call to reverse the decision
Stringer urges the Prime Minister to reverse the decision, noting the previous Science Minister, Lord Patrick Vallance, described it as 'gruesome'. He also highlights a bias against the North, recalling the decision to place the Diamond Light Source at Oxford instead of Daresbury.
'The closure of Jodrell Bank would take this government in completely the wrong direction,' Stringer concludes.
